Seidhepriest
500+ Head-Fier
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Long story short, these can be the best all-around supra-aural foldable headphones recabled. Relatively cheap, small, not that difficult to recable, quick and lively, and good-looking. And, they're pretty good stock. At less than $50 off The Big Online Sales Site, they're great value. With some more money expended on John's silver-plated wires, heat-shrink, sleeving, plugs, etc. etc., these are magical.
[size=xx-small]Manufacturer Specs
Diaphragm size: 38 mm.
Nominal impedance: 35 ohm
Sensitivity: 100 dB/1 mW
Max. power input: 1000 mW
Frequency response: 10-22000 Hz
Weight: 140 g. excluding cable
Cable length: 0.5 metres
Cable extension length: approximately 0.8 metres[/size]
[size=xx-small]Quick Summary
Note: there are two versions of AH-P372, "dark" (late production?) and "bright" (early production?). The "dark" version is muter by some 9 dB: it has treble and high midrange dampened. The "bright" version is wonderful, and simply the best value in supra-aural headphones. How to distinguish the two versions: "bright" must be early production, so any set that's been shelved for a long time in a store is likely "bright". Of the two white (AH-P372W) sets here, "bright" had grey cushions, while "dark" had black pads. The review is of the "bright" headphones.
Headband holders can creak while moving. Creaking noise is made only when they don't fit snugly. Adjusting the headband so the cushions sit tight on the head fixes creaking. And it's not audible when playing through an amp anyway.
Overall they're like the AH-D1000 minus the ambience/space resolution. Great for rock and any "guitars/bass/drums/vocals" music.
The fit is a bit too tight the first couple of days, but then they relax and don't squeeze the ears much.
Bass is punchy, but not heavy. A tad too boomy and bloated at first. Dynamics are wonderful, drums are very "tasty". They're fast.
Oh, and. They've better resolution than the K-81DJ. K-81/K-518 are muddy, muddy, muddy, and with an exaggerated bass. Boombox on ears. AH-P372 are much cleaner. Also more comfortable than the K-81/K-518. And cheaper. More efficient. And they weigh less.
So in summary: good for almost any kind of music, great for rock/metal/anything energetic, a bit sterile in sound, fast dynamics, nice looks, good (though not stellar) resolution (a bit toyish sound, especially with pads/strings/anything "ambient"), fairly cheap.
For the money, there's hardly anything better.[/size]
And now, the full review.
It's a pity AH-P372 aren't given as much attention as they deserve, as they are great little foldable headphones, a tiny match for AH-D1001. So if you've been looking for something similar to AH-D1001 but "portable" and foldable, this is it.
AH-P372 are based on Foster model 022096.
Foster specs:
[size=xx-small]Impedance: 44.0Ω ±30%
Nominal Power: 30mW
Maximum Power: 100mW
Sound Pressure Level: 100dB ±3dB[/size]
[size=xx-small]Folded over the stock pouch.[/size]
AH-P372 are Denon's first "portable" model. Closed (but ventilated, with "bass escape" holes). Foldable, and really smaller than they look in photos. Folded, AH-P372 fit in a hand's palm.
They were called similar to AH-D1001; they are, and in some ways they're like a "toy version" of the AH-D1001, though they have a bit different temper and a character of their own.
AH-P372 are "punchier", diaphragms sit closer to eardrums than with the AH-D1001. They can be deafening when driven loud (grumble, grumble, supra-aural). They're more aggressive than the AH-D1001. Of the two, the AH-P372 are the "rocker" set; AH-D1001 are more ambiental, relaxed, natural. Or, AH-P372 are much like supra-aural AH-D1001 minus ambience, some resolution, comfort, and with a bit more "squarish" and congested sound.
AH-D1001 and AH-P372 don't share diaphragms; AH-D1001 have "organic microfibre" 40 mm. diaphragms, AH-P372 use regular 38 mm. diaphragms. AH-P372 are slightly quicker and with a slightly more "technical" sound, though being supra-aural contributes to that.
Build is cheaper than AH-D1001, AH-P372 have coarser plastic seams, thin (and short) cables, and little metal in the frame (screws and wires). Metallic-looking cup rings are metallic-paint plastic. After the AH-D1000 with its magnesium headband and more refined materials, the AH-P372 did feel a bit cheapish. But they are tough, and won't get damaged when folded (tested when the pouch fell and rode a few metres over floor).
Cable is 0.5 m., extension is 0.8 m. Just enough for a notebook computer connection or a front panel PC connection. Without extension, the cable is long enough for a belt-mounted player or, for the taller people, player in a shirt pocket.
Comfort isn't that bad for supra-aural. Denon went for seal: AH-P372 won't move when in place, but the pressure can become painful after a couple hours. The pads are fairly soft, but there're more comfortable supra-aurals out there (Roland RH-50). AH-P372 can be adjusted for better seal and comfort, the pads' pressure has to be evenly distributed over ears. Seal, by the way, is impeccable. They just stay however they were adjusted.
At first they can try being squishy, but after a couple days of wearing the AH-P372 relax and don't press much. They can be stretched over something like a book pile. Cup holders are a bit loose and can rock, creaking during walking, but adjusting the headband so the cups are pushed slightly upwards fixes that. Creaking isn't audible with a headphone amp anyway.
Isolation's pretty good for something this small. When playing at moderate volume, they block street noise. Finger snapping or a kettle's whistle can't be heard.
Foster/Denon headphones have backwave acoustic tuning. The concept's the same as with ported speakers - backwave gets channelled front to reinforce the main output of the diaphragm. This has two basic effects: one, there's a slight delay and an effect of "volume" to the soundstage, and two, efficiency improves as backfire energy is not lost. Also, the cups are used to shape and generate a "natural" reverb (which does have a bit plasticky feel to it, but which is not honky as with cheaper closed headphones).
This is what "Denon's acoustic optimiser technology" really is about - it's a reflector design of the cups. AH-P372 have a small collector plate behind the diaphragms for the purpose, AH-D1001 have larger cups that are used as collectors.
The first trait of the AH-P372 that gets noticed is: dynamics. Foster dryish-but-dynamic sound. They're very fast, and can be very lively with the right kind of music. The problem with the stock set is that the midrange is a tad too flat. They pick up details OK, but midrange is a bit wooly. So instruments' bodies can blur together on a live/instrumental piece. This congestion is partly due to stock cable veil, partly due to efficient backwave tuning. On the second week of use they started to "open up", but before that the picture was weird - fast, detailed bass & treble, bits of midrange getting overshadowed and lost somewhere out there. Low midrange and bass are large-ish, even boomy & pushy at first. Bass boom reduces with burn-in.
AH-P372 can be bassy, but bass isn't the hard-slamming kind of K-81DJ bass. It's the softer, more rounded and a tad boomy kind. On the stock set, bassiness can be annoying at first, but they tame down with burn-in.
AH-P372, thanks to their quick dynamics, are very good with percussion. Drums are "tasty", they've depth, they're "3D". Any energetic music will cause foot-tapping. They're sharp and quick on attack, and that matches AH-P372 with fast music, like metal, rock, fast electro, etc. The closed (and isolating) headphones that can match open headphones in quickness. The one word that can describe AH-P372 is "speed".
Only problem with the stock AH-P372 is that sometimes bass can get slightly overdriven and bassy instruments can get pushed forward in the mix. On the first day, when playing "Take Five" from Dave Brubeck's live "Concord On A Summer Night" through the CMoy amp, fretless bass was overwhelming everything. Jumpy-happy, yes, energising, yes, but it was getting over the piano. After burn-in they settled down and no longer had the overwhelming bass, but it still tends to get a bit over everything.
AH-P372 aren't as bassy and hard-hitting as AKG K-81DJ/K-518DJ, but then the K-81 are the "savage basshead's" set.
Strings and pads aren't as prominent as they could be; sometimes they can get too thin in the mix. After burn-in (two weeks, over 30 hours), AH-P372 have become more positional, all pans and spacious swivelling pads are properly moving through space, which has gained size. The more delicate string/pad parts can still be a bit too thin and mute, but they've more presence. Bear in mind this is coming from AH-D1000 and recabled K-240 Studio, which have great ambient detail.
So, bear with them for a couple of weeks and they'll become more balanced.
AH-P372 are less detailed than AH-D1001, but this can be a "plus" of sorts: they're less demanding to sources and won't show deficiencies in the extremes (bass & space extension) as easily as AH-D1001. So for a portable player they're a very good match.
Some cotton stuffed to the sides of cups, to the reflector plate's sides, helps gain some space in the soundstage and makes the AH-P372 more civilised. Extra energy gets absorbed, bass gets tamed and boominess disappears. The ugly "hollow well" echo disappears. Midrange gets to where it should be. The trick is ensuring cotton is loose and soft, otherwise it can become a "second wall".
Recabled and modified, the AH-P372 are a completely different creature, stunningly fast, and with a lot of detail. Also aggressive. Stock quiet wooly cosiness is gone completely, they have more harmonic warmth than tonal warmth. Space and presence are stunning. Midrange is clean and clear. In short, recabled and modified, those are the portable headphones that can match studio kit. This isn't an exaggeration - they transmit records as intended, with details and mood that make a piece of music whole. Very, very musical, they've been playing for the last few days (and there're recabled K-240 Studio and AH-D1000 here). They're still a bit "loud" tonally, slightly more treble and bass than midrange, but the midrange is there and no longer "wooly", but very fluid and quick.
In summary, Denon AH-P372 are very good all-around portable headphones that do little wrong, and do pretty much everything right. Just like the rest of the Denon/Foster line, they're quick and lively, but the stock mistake of leaving space around the reflector gives a hollow echo/reverb which is like a reflexion from a large hole in the ground around the soundstage. The "cotton mod" can fix that. As a base for recabled portable headphones, these are probably the best there is, cost/value.
At less than $50 off EBay, they're easily some of the best portable headphones out there. Closed, efficient, and with good isolation.
So yes, they're recommended
Wallet, meet diet...
